#F.D.A. Did Not Intervene to Curb Risky #Fentanyl Prescriptions - The New York Times
▻https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/02/health/fda-fentanyl-opioid-epidemic-overdose-cancer.html
A fast-acting class of fentanyl drugs approved only for #cancer patients with high opioid tolerance has been prescribed frequently to patients with back pain and #migraines, putting them at high risk of accidental overdose and death, according to documents collected by the Food and Drug Administration.
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About 5,000 pages of documents, obtained by researchers at Johns Hopkins University through the Freedom of Information Act and provided to The New York Times, show that the F.D.A. had data showing that so-called off-label prescribing was widespread. But officials did little to intervene.